- Could you briefly describe ALAMOD?
Bertrand Guenet: ALAMOD began on April 1, 2023, and will run for five years. We are currently in an important phase of our project because we need to supply the multiple datasets that will serve as the basis for our modelling work.
ALAMOD is a collaborative effort involving CNRS, INRAE, CIRAD, IRD, and various universities. All our partners are contributing valuable expertise because they are already running long-term experimental sites in a variety of environments (forests, agricultural lands) experiencing different climatic conditions and uses. The data collected at these sites are essential because they represent variables that are measured repeatedly over time, and our models require time-series data.
- What is ALAMOD’s international significance?
Bertrand Guenet: There is strong governmental pressure to estimate levels of carbon storage in ecosystems and the ways in which they could be increased. To meet their obligations under the Paris Agreement, some countries are relying on the natural carbon storage capacity of their ecosystems to reach their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). The challenge we face is that there are different methodologies for arriving at these estimates, otherwise known as the Tier 1, 2, and 3 methods.
Tier 1 methods are the simplest: they use the emission factors in the scientific literature. This approach is accessible to countries that lack the resources or infrastructure to obtain more accurate estimates.
At the other extreme are Tier 3 methods, which use the most up-to-date scientific techniques to arrive at the most accurate estimates possible. As for the Tier 2 methods, they directly measure emission factors for a specific context. These methods therefore involve a huge number of measurements, which presents a logistical challenge.
We are therefore looking at a different level of complexity, operating at a higher level that we hope is also the most reliable, given that it should be more applicable at broader scales. The difficulty is that Tier 3 methods raise many methodological and scientific questions. In particular, we need to be able to evaluate the modelling tools being used, which means having observations and measurements. In Europe, many countries are developing this category of assessment tools.
France is unique in that its scientific community is relatively efficient, strongly engaged in multiple projects, and affiliated with long-standing research institutes that have been running long-term experiments. At the same time, French research is highly fragmented and characterised by numerous initiatives that display little to no coordination. ALAMOD’s overarching goal is therefore to coordinate current research efforts to respond to the urgent needs of policymakers.
Antonio Bispo: In fact, by bringing together existing information, we will be able to fine-tune our current understanding of carbon storage levels and trends. These data are currently scattered and have different formats with similar vocabularies, making them difficult to analyse from multiple angles. Bringing them together will not only permit the use and development of Tier 3 tools, but will also provide new, more accessible information and generate new models. Demand is great for the latter, as they can help inform future public policies.
- ALAMOD focuses on continental ecosystems. Can you explain how these ecosystems influence levels of atmospheric CO2?
Bertrand Guenet: Half of all carbon emissions are stored in ecosystems, with just under a quarter in the oceans.
One focal solution at present is the wide range of geoengineering techniques that manipulate certain key factors to limit the effects of climate change. One example is carbon dioxide removal (CDR), whose aim is to remove carbon from the atmosphere. Similar steps could be taken with regards to the oceans and terrestrial surfaces. However, for the oceans, we don’t know much about the ecosystem-level impacts of such actions because of the constant mixing of oceanic waters, a dynamic that makes it impossible to estimate specific impacts, particularly in international waters.
In contrast, continental ecosystems, particularly those in Europe, have been almost exclusively managed by humans for a very long time, and thus we know, at a local level, what carbon storage techniques have been used and what their impacts have been. Consequently, it is easy to find out how many tonnes of carbon have been stored per hectare, for example. That is the reason that CDR efforts will be largely restricted to continental ecosystems, where the situation is easier to measure and control.
- Which ecosystems will you measure and how?
Antonio Bispo: We plan to focus primarily on agricultural ecosystems, forest ecosystems, and their interactions. We want to bring together specialists in these different ecosystems so that they can exchange knowledge and collaborate on new measurement tools and models.
With regards to tools, many new approaches use satellite and LiDAR data to estimate levels of forest biomass and agricultural production. Infrared soil analysis yields multiple measurements, while Rock-Eval® analysis is employed to assess soil carbon stability. The latter provides a welcome addition to previously developed methods because it provides finer-scale estimates of quantities of organic and inorganic carbon in soils. As a result, we are able to include more accurate data from different scales in our models. Previously, this information was only collected for a few sites and not across larger surfaces, which is now possible thanks to satellite imagery and LiDAR.
Bertrand Guenet: Infrared and Rock-Eval® analyses are valuable because, when properly calibrated, they can be run quickly and yield useful predictions, which means they can inform efforts to model changes in soil carbon stocks. It thus becomes possible to predict the effects of potential management practices resulting in time savings during method selection and implementation. That said, these rapid measurement and modelling techniques are only helpful if they can be validated by real-life observations. This task requires a wide range of technical skills, which is why it is important to bring together different scientific communities. Modellers can benefit from understanding experimental approaches and their limitations, while field researchers can benefit from understanding the types of data needed to perform extrapolations and inform public policies.
- Are you saying that research has never addressed how agricultural practices can affect forests, for example?
Bertrand Guenet: French research institutes are set up in such a way that forestry research does not take place in the same places as agricultural research. It is therefore difficult to evaluate the impacts of certain actions. For example, if the amount of surface area under organic farming increases because of greater variability in yields, then more farmlands will be needed, which will affect forests. More generally, if we want to transition towards more environmentally friendly agricultural practices while also reducing deforestation, we must be able to study the different finer-scale impacts, which is not yet happening in France.
- What information technology or digital infrastructures will you need to perform this work? In particular, what is the role of AnaEE France?
Antonio Bispo: AnaEE already has databases and information exchange systems that we can exploit, as well as infrastructure for managing terrestrial ecosystem data. ALAMOD will build on this foundation, notably by enabling the integration of new types of data.
AnaEE is an association of institutes who conduct experiments in controlled environments. Because they have experience monitoring experimental sites, they know how to handle relatively large datasets.
- Will ALAMOD end up creating new tools?
Antonio Bispo: Yes, it is possible that something new will emerge from our project. We are in discussions with DATA TERRA, an infrastructure designed to host different types of planetary data, so what we develop might end up with them at a later date.
Bertrand Guenet: There's a wide range of infrastructures hosting different types of complementary data, and this situation does not make it easy for potential users to draw out the synergies. One of FairCarboN's main objectives is to create synergies among existing dynamics, but this work requires the existence of comparable protocols and, therefore, extensive discussion. In this field, French research and its results are a gold mine that is currently unexploited because we struggle to come together and deliver cohesive messages to policymakers. Our goal is therefore to collaborate more effectively to avoid pitfalls during crises. If we get better organised, we should be able to take more effective action.
- What are the main expected results of your work?
Antonio Bispo: Our aim is for our data portal to persist after FairCarboN ends—to continue to grow and be used by others. We must first agree on a common vocabulary, the types of data, levels of data confidentiality, and the difference between the data made accessible to researchers versus the general public.
Bertrand Guenet: FairCarboN is the type of project whose starting point is understanding that, when research is mainly project based, certain tools are abandoned when the project ends. Thus, ALAMOD is focused on creating relationships that are strong enough to ensure the persistence of our tools for measuring and modelling carbon stocks in soils and biomass. We also want to convince institutions that continued tool use and improvement will require dedicated staff.
